Personality of the Day: Seth Curry

Some tales in basketball transcend beyond points and assists. Seth Curry is one of them. Being the son of a former NBA player and an elder brother who would later become the best shooter in the history of basketball, Seth could have relied on his last name. Rather, he decided to work hard and get everything that he received. Team cut, ignored in the drafts, and grinded in the G League when his brother was winning titles, Seth Curry had to build his path on his own. 

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Early Life and Education

Seth Adham Curry was born on the 23rd August 1990 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Both his father, Dell Curry, and mother, Sonya, were professional NBA and volleyball players respectively, spending most of their careers with the Charlotte Hornets and Virginia Tech respectively. Seth had not had to be introduced to basketball. It was in the walls of the house he grew up in already.

Dell, being a child, would take Seth and his elder brother Stephen to games at which they would shoot around with the team during warm-ups. It was during those young years in the NBA arenas that Seth formed his perception of the game prior to his first competitively played game. He went to the Charlotte Christian School where he was a three-year starter, scoring 22.3 points on average, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, and his team had a 105-24 overall record in his senior year. He also made the academic honour roll for four years.

Upon graduating in 2008, Seth joined the Liberty University where he was the leading freshman in the country with a 20.2 point per game average, and had the highest single-season scoring average by a freshman in the Big South Conference. He then moved to Duke University, where he sat a year under transfer requirements, then proceeded to be an All-ACC player and record 1,394 points in 141 games as a Blue Devil.

The NBA website states: “Began his five-year collegiate career at Liberty, averaging 20.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game… Broke the conference’s single-season scoring record for freshmen, was named All-Big South and Big South All-Freshman, and led all freshman nationally in scoring… transferred to Duke and compiled 1,394 total points in 141 games (120 starts) as a Blue Devil, peaking at 17.5 points per game as a senior… Earned two All-ACC team selections… Made the D-League All-Rookie team in 2014, was a two-time All-NBA D-Leaguer, and a two-time NBA D-League All-Star selection.”

The Struggle Nobody Saw Coming

Irrespective of all how well he had performed in college, Seth Curry was not drafted in the 2013 NBA Draft. This was one of those hits that the majority of people with his family name would not have anticipated. He had signed an unguaranteed contract with the Golden State Warriors, and got waived on October 25 after playing in six preseason games.

The ESPN mentions: “The Warriors waived guard Seth Curry, center Dewayne Dedmon and forward Joe Alexander. They also exercised the fourth-year contract option on shooting guard Klay Thompson and the third-year contract options on forward Harrison Barnes and center Festus Ezeli for the 2014-15 season, as expected.”

The occasion where he was cut off by the team shattered him. Instead, Seth was sent to the G League and got down to work. During his first season at G League, he averaged 19.7 points per game with the Santa Cruz Warriors and won the D-League All-Rookie First Team in 2014 and was chosen as a D-League All-Star twice. 

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Basketball Career

In 2015, the Sacramento Kings signed Seth and it became his breakthrough. In 2016, he became a Dallas Mavericks and has since become one of the most precise three-point shooters in the whole league. He joined the Portland Trail Blazers in 2018, assisted them in reaching the Finals of the West, and led them against their brother Stephen and his Warriors in the playoffs, the first time two brothers had gone against each other during the NBA playoffs.

Seth was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in November of 2020. At the 2021 NBA Playoffs, he recorded a career-high of 30 points in Game 5 against the Washington Wizards. He has since signed up with the Brooklyn Nets, back to play with the Dallas Mavericks, then with the Charlotte Hornets and is now playing with the Golden State Warriors, where he is playing alongside his brother Stephen.

The NBA mentions: “Seth Curry led the way for the Sixers, scoring 30 points on 10-for-17 shooting. He was3-for-6 from deep, and 7-for-7 from the line.”

As per NBA, he has made a total of 482 appearances in 10 NBA seasons and averages 10.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2 assists per game while having a shooting accuracy of 43.1% from 3-point range. 

Seth Curry Personal Life

Seth married in September 2019 the daughter of Hall of Fame NBA coach Doc Rivers and sister of NBA player Austin Rivers, Callie Rivers. The two had been acquainted with basketball circles over the years before they met. They have three children. 

Quotes By Seth Curry 

• My mentality's always the same, whether it's summer league, D-League, NBA, wherever it is. 

• I'm not really someone who's always out on the scene going places. I'm a homebody. That's just who I am. 

• I've got a good first step and things of that nature. So it's just about using your body to make the defense play at your tempo and react to you.

• I think basketball IQ, work ethic, competitiveness are probably the most important things in a basketball player.

• I like having the ball in my hands and being able to make plays, but I think my shooting is an asset, too.

The case of Seth Curry is evidence that a famous surname is able to open a door but it cannot take you through it. He walked himself, one G League game at a time, till the NBA had no choice but to finally give a room to him permanently.

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